The Sun Came Out .....

The sun made a rare appearance yesterday afternoon so I could get a few shots of my, "Northern Saw Whet Owl" colored pencil drawing.

I listed him in my Etsy Shop this morning.

Have a beautiful Sunday.

Enjoy the SUNSHINE!

From Start to Finish in an Instant ...

I wanted to share the evolution of my latest Northern Saw Whet Owl drawing, in instagram. My materials included, a vintage encyclopedia cover (shown above), vintage tacks and a yellow book page from of course a vintage cook book. It has been so long since I worked with colored pencils I didn’t realize how much I missed them until I started creating.

Step 1, rip apart the encyclopedia and cut it to size. A great way to get some anger out!

Step 2, roughly outline the owl image in colored pencil.

Step 3, start coloring, my favorite part!

Step 4, spray the drawing with a protective varnish, my least favorite part, yuck!

Step 5, cut, measure, glue, and decorate the yellow paper. Glue the image on top and add the tacks.

Step 6, color the largest book cover with pastels, colored pencil, acrylic paint, and once again go outside and spray with protective varnish.

Step 7 put it all together!

Step 8, take some fabulous photos. That unfortunately did not happen I was missing one important material the sun. Hopefully I will get this cute owl in my shop once the sun decides to make an appearance.

A Great Horned Owl and some fun Vintage Goodies …

Before I started painting my owl I decided I was going to do something I rarely do and paint this beautiful bird his actual color. I almost never do that and usually the only time I do is when the colors of the subject are loud and vibrant, like a butterfly or the Sun Conure Parrots.

Each time I work with watercolors I learn something new. I have been struggling with the fact that watercolors are not as naturally bold and dramatic as acrylics. the paint colors are softer and I have been trying to manipulate the medium to work with my style. I especially enjoy working with browns, grays, and yellows. I love how warm they are and how in this particular piece they give the owl a glow.

Other than the watercolor paper and paint the entire piece was made up of vintage materials. The book cover was rescued from the “Free” box at the library and the paper came out of an old set of encyclopedias my in-laws gave to me and the thread and furniture nails came from a cute shop on Etsy.

I wanted to share a few new vintage goodies I purchased on Etsy, first my furniture nails and the adorable box they came in. I have used the nails on several pieces, including the Great Horned Owl collage and the Robin on the Cherry Blossom Branch painting. I can’t get over how cute the box is! I not only purchased the nails but some vintage thread and a fun glass daffodil container from, sweetcindylouwho .

Today I received my newest purchase, colorful tacks from a fabulous vintage shop called, cheryl12108 . I love the yellow and green they are going to be perfect for my upcoming creations.

Happy Leap Day!!!!

Original watercolor collage-Three Little Birds Sitting in a Tree

I wanted to share a few pictures of my newest watercolor collage. This piece of art features three little birds, vintage cookbook pages, vintage thread, watercolors, acrylic paint, sequins, and an 11” by 5 ½” piece mdf.

Palm Warbler

Northern Parulas

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher

Have a fabulous Tuesday!

An Amazing Cause ...

In the beginning of February I had the privilege of being approached by Brooke Desserich, author and founder of The Cure Starts Now Foundation to donate a piece of art to their gala and silent auction in March.

I was flattered. This year the event has a jungle theme, so I decided to create a piece of art that would fit in with the event. I knew I wanted to paint birds, of course but I was uncertain what kind.

I decided to paint two Sun Conure Parrots, they are colorful, happy, cheerful birds and I thought they would be perfect for the event.

I hope my art helps this wonderful cause!

Have a beautiful Monday!

A Robin and a Cherry Blossom ...

I wanted to share another watercolor painting this morning. A robin sitting on a cherry blossom branch. Robin’s have the prettiest singing voices and other than their colorful chests are a little drab so I decided to dress him up a bit in this painting.

Teal, blue, purple, orange, burgundy, grey, brown, and I few other colors I am sure I am leaving out decorate his colorful feathers. He is sitting on a cherry blossom branch just starting to bloom.

The watercolor is attached to a piece of mdf that I first painted white. After the white dried I added the orange stripes and then stained the piece with a burnt umber acrylic paint. The watercolor is mounted to the mdf with glue and with beautiful vintage decorative nails I purchased on Etsy from, sweetcindylouwho.

Have a beautiful Sunday!!!

Watercolor Collage-Orange-tip Butterfly Resting on a Magenta Zinnia

Hi, it has been quite awhile since I have posted anything new here on my blog! Life is finally starting to get back to normal, whatever normal is. This was the first week since the beginning of the new year that I was actually able to create a couple of days.

I have been experimenting quite a bit with watercolors and have finished several pieces. I love working with a new medium. It is fun challenging myself and working through new ideas.

The art I am sharing today is a watercolor collage. In the center of the art is a circular piece of watercolor paper featuring an orange-tip butterfly sitting on a magenta zinnia. A vintage book cover is the base of the art collage. I cut vintage book pages into a petal pattern and created a frame to go around the watercolor. Vintage purple thread was attached to the collage for easy hanging.